If the Antediluvians are the Kindred's gods, the terrible Methuselahs are demigods and avatars. At a point between a vampire's thousandth and two thousandth year, a grave change overtakes the Kindred. Sometimes the change is physical, while at other times it is mental or emotional. Whatever the nature of the change, the end result is that the vampire no longer bears any resemblence of humanity. Having truely moved from the earthly into the realm of the supernatural, the Methuselahs often retire into the earth, where they may slumber away from the thirsty fangs of younger vampires. Their powers are so great, however, that they continue to direct their inscrutable plans mentally, communicating magically or telepathically (and almost always invisibly) with their minions.
Kindred greatly fear the Methuselahs, who are accorded any number of horrifying characteristics. Rumors speak of Methuselahs whose skin has become stone, of everything from hideous disfigurements to unearthly beauty that cannot be looked upon. Some are believed to drink only vampire blood, while others control the fates of entire nations from their cold tombs. |